1
as in hopeless
not capable of being cured or reformed
an irretrievable drug addict who had wasted a once-promising life
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irreparable
not capable of being repaired, regained, or undone
this is just an irretrievable mess, so let's start all over again
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of irretrievable
Days before, Sheriff Nanos had said images were irretrievable.
—
Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 1 Mar. 2026
This dreamscape of the island, like that of the jungle, illuminates in children’s literature a sense of utopia and longing about childhood as a not-quite-place, situated in an irretrievable past-yet-future, while at the same time rooted in an anti-utopian logic of adulthood.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
Alcaraz broke the Italian twice, winning the set with an incredible backhand flick from what looked like an irretrievable position and cupping his ear.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
There is a genuinely irretrievable, ephemeral, low-res version of the movie.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for irretrievable
Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 1 Mar. 2026
This dreamscape of the island, like that of the jungle, illuminates in children’s literature a sense of utopia and longing about childhood as a not-quite-place, situated in an irretrievable past-yet-future, while at the same time rooted in an anti-utopian logic of adulthood.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
Alcaraz broke the Italian twice, winning the set with an incredible backhand flick from what looked like an irretrievable position and cupping his ear.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
There is a genuinely irretrievable, ephemeral, low-res version of the movie.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for irretrievable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irretrievable
Adjective
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To Some New Island Guests With a competitive streak a mile wide, Penny (Roorbach) is charming, popular, and a hopeless romantic – for now, anyway.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
7 May 2026
-
This behavior has become epidemic in our voyeuristic and hopeless society.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency rescinded several longstanding environmental regulations, including gutting the 2009 endangerment finding and rolling back air quality standards for coal-burning power plants, which advocates say will cause irreparable harm.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
27 Apr. 2026
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The Court’s tendency to side with the White House in such cases, if only temporarily, has allowed serious constitutional harm to continue, and has, in some cases, done irreparable damage.—
Gregg Nunziata,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Two years almost to the day of getting a diagnosis of ALS, an incurable neurodegenerative disease that disrupts how nerve cells communicate with the muscles and leads to total paralysis, Nakakihara died at his Laguna Niguel home April 22, surrounded by his wife, Denise, and other family members.—
Samantha Dunn,
Oc Register,
30 Apr. 2026
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Poet-activist Andrea Gibson and their partner Megan Falley confront Andrea’s incurable ovarian cancer diagnosis as cameras follow them, exploring how this journey deepens their love and appreciation for life.—
Brande Victorian,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Charlotte Observer has reported on the Charlotte City Council’s concerns about the project, including a plan to request a pause on any irreversible actions.—
Eva Flowe
May 11,
Charlotte Observer,
11 May 2026
-
And of course, did paying for it put you into irreversible debt?—
Amy Lindgren,
Twin Cities,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
At the same time, much of the world is facing water bankruptcy, meaning people and industries are using more fresh water than nature can replenish, leading to irrecoverable ecosystem damages.—
Abraham Nunbogu,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
An irrecoverable loss of the entirety of our personal data.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
His remains were determined to be unrecoverable in 1956 until new DNA testing led to his homecoming.—
Bri Buckley,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
It was pronounced unrecoverable.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This is why the tragedy of Gaza seems definitive and irremediable: because a state and an army that pretend to be the expression of that culture, as the heirs of that history, have betrayed the Jewish intellectual contribution to modern civilization.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Many of the country’s top psychiatric groups warn that there is no empirical standard for determining whether a mental-health condition is irremediable.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Daisy’s strategy with Mike has always been to treat him like a misbehaved child, which works insofar as scolding an incorrigible child does.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Terrible for me, an incorrigible snoop of other people’s phones, but probably a good thing for society at large.—
David Pierce,
The Verge,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irretrievable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irretrievable. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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